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SnapCall Sports Blog

What it Feels Like to Win Silver

February 23, 2018 by Michael Szego

During our SnapCall Sports contests these past few weeks, sponsored by our friends at SWX/THQ, we dove deep into the world of figure skating. The best thing that came out of it was undoubtedly the Russian rivalry between gold medalist Alina Zagitova and silver medalist Evgenia Medvedeva. If you joined in our coverage, especially during the women's short program and women's free skate for the medal late in the games, you'd know how close these two are to each other in skill and in life. One is a 15-year-old phenom, and one seems like a 18-year old-veteran (if that can be a thing). Zagitova deserves the gold without question, and should be a favorite in four years as we look ahead to the next games. The question remains, what does it feel like to come in as a young favorite, one of the best in the world, and be bested by your skating partner who you see every day. How do you move on from that and stay proud of what you have accomplished?

FS Gossips had a fantastic interview with Evgenia Medvedeva after her final run in the free skate Thursday night, which you can both see below, and from the link here. Credit to them for a great interview, which we wanted to share with all the SnapCall Sports fans who were watching with her until the bitter end. Don't expect this to be the end for either of these girls. If you want more stories like this, from the Olympics, to the basketball court, to the football field, to the soccer pitch, join us on SnapCall Sports each and every night to dive deep into the game.

Roll tape:

Why did you start crying on the ice?

I’m not the kind of person who puts emotions on display. But today is a special day. During the performance, I was Karenina from beginning to end, I experienced everything that happened to her. I left my soul on the ice, and this feeling will be with me all my life.

And yet, where did the tears come from?

It has never happened at competitions before. I do not know what it was. Probably, the emotions that demanded the exit. I cried and immediately it became easier.

You lacked 1.31 points to win. Meanwhile, with the previous free program you could get more for the technique.

What’s the point of thinking about things you can’t change?! I look only forward. I want to thank my whole huge team, consisting of coaches, choreographers, doctors and other specialists. Thanks to all these people, I was able to recover from injury and win an Olympic medal.

Did you feel extra pressure because the whole country waited only victory from you and Alina?

No, today I was absolutely calm. No nerves! Before the performance I took a deep breath, spread my wings like a bird, and flew!

What did you think when you saw so many Russian flags at the stands?

Already at the team event I was amazed by support of the audience. Today there was a feeling that only our fans are at the stands. It was really cool!

Many people cheered for you personally.

I heard that the fans were shouting my name. It worths a lot to make me smile before the skate. Once again, thank you all for your support!

After a short program there was a lot of talks that gold is already ours. Did it interfere in your preparation to this decisive performance?

No. I was only thinking about skating. I wanted to perform in a such way so that do not to feel any regrets. I did it.

Maybe it was worth to risk and slightly complicate the program?

Each of us has a lot of thoughts in his head. I will not say mine. I can only repeat once more: I did everything I wanted, and I do not regret anything.

Are you happy with the scores for technique?

How can I be unhappy, having skated my program cleanly ?! At the same time, now I have a motivation to work even more on the technical component of both programs. If you really want to, you can achieve everything. My parents taught me so…

In the group of your coach Eteri Tutberidze new talented girls are growing up. Are you ready to compete with them?

That’s life. I myself was 15 years old once. Without competition in sports, as in life, there would be a stagnation, and I’m for evolution!

How difficult was it to perform under a different flag?

Athletes do not have power over circumstances. But if you saw the stands today, you could skip this question. The fans know very well who we are and why they came here.

Can you imagine yourself in the place of 31-year-old Carolina Kostner, for whom this Olympics are already the fourth?

People like her inspire me. When something does not work out, you say to yourself: “Carolina can, so that means you can do it also.” Honestly, I can not imagine how she manages to keep such an amazing shape for so many years. This is a good example to follow. I like figure skating and I want to do it for a long time as Carolina Kostner.